October 12, 2009

But Galippo admits that he especially looks forward to being in the starting lineup when the sixth-ranked Trojans play at Notre Dame on Saturday.

Galippo, a third-year sophomore, visited Notre Dame as a high school junior, touring the campus with a group of highly rated prospects that included current Fighting Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen and USC tailback Marc Tyler.

Galippo said Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis was so intent on getting an oral commitment from Clausen that he neglected to speak to Galippo or even shake his hand.

"I came back home and committed to SC and then he gave me the call and said, 'We wanted you. You can start,' " said Galippo, who played at Anaheim Servite High. "I'm like, 'Ah, it's all right. I think I'll go to SC.'

"Even if he had talked to me during the visit, I would have come [to USC]. But it would be nice to at least get a handshake."

Chris has been one of our best players this season and looks like a legitimate All-American LB candidate. Thank you Charlie Weis for allowing the recruitment to be quick and painless.

September 08, 2009

- Passing game looked horrid in the 1st quarter, but the running game was solid from the start. Joe deserves to be the feature-back despite his inability to hold onto the ball. He's too big of a gamebreaker to take off the field and Coach Carroll knows it.

- Continuing on the topic of running backs, you know I had a big smile on my face when Allen Bradford came into the game. I felt vindicated for all those posts questioning his lack of PT. He looked great on the toss-sweeps.

- Stafon continues to be my favorite back with his overlooked ability to create holes out of nothing. His run in the red-zone in the 2nd quarter where he spun off two defenders in the backfield then juked another two to pick up 6 yards was one of the best plays of the day. He is the most complete back on this team.

- I didn't see enough from Barkley to really judge his performance. It's no knock on him, but the fact is, you could have put any above-average QB in the same position and gotten the same results. Bates called a nice conservative game; I don't think there was a bootleg or play-action play where Barkley didn't have a clear underneath option. Until Matt starts throwing between the hash-marks (i.e. Ohio State), it's hard to really say anything about his performance.

- Defense looked great. The D-Line looks entirely different from last year; Coach Jethro Franklin has these guys playing on a whole different level. Last year, you often saw our d-line popping up at the point of attack; this game the D-line was cutting through the gaps with ease. The players have been talking about Coach Franklin's emphasis on technique and so far it shows.

- Chris Galippo had a great debut. He really seemed to be around the ball on every play in the backfield. As for the other linebackers, Michael Morgan took some bad angles, which he needs to fix before he lines up against Terrelle Pryor. Malcolm Smith looked great sideline-to-sideline.

- It seems like TE play is going to be a BIG part of the offense this year. I really like our current group of Anthony McCoy, Blake Ayles, and Rhett Ellison, they all bring a different style to the table.

- Jarvis Jones and Devon Kennard had great games. Kennard played very disciplined for a freshman. I love the fact that he doesn't over-pursue on the ball and understands his assignments. There was one play in particular where the SJ State RB took a normal hand-off, but Devon read the potential fake and contained the outside for a moment before pursuing the ball-carrier for a TFL. Might not have seemed like much, but it shows his level of maturity.

- Washington and Tennessee look like entirely different programs with Sark and Kiffin. The Huskies kept it real close with LSU down to the end and Tennessee ran all over Western Kentucky. Both teams had a clear swagger about them that is radically different from anything seen last year.

- On the topic of the Washington game, Patrick Peterson of LSU is flat out the best corner in the land. If you recruiting freaks remember, he went by a different name, Patrick Johnson, during his recruitment. He came out to SC during the Rising Stars camp and tore up the competition. SC was in it for a while, but in the end it came down to Miami and LSU.

- Tennessee has a real impressive running game. I said earlier in the year that Bryce Brown is the #1 player in the 2009 class and he lived up to the hype on Saturday looking quick and tough on his runs. Behind Bryce, David Oku also looks like another star. As for their game against UCLA on Saturday, it should come down to whether the Bruins can control the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. UT's line was opening holes for Hardesty, Brown, and Oku against WKU, which completely opened the passing the game for Crompton, who is usually terrible. If UCLA can force UT to pass, the game should be competitive otherwise it'll get real ugly fast.

- Mark Ingram of Alabama is the best RB in the country IMO. He reminds me a lot of Knowshon Moreno as a RS-Freshman, the way he runs tough between the tackles and can break it outside. He looked great last year as a freshman behind Glen Coffee and looks even better this year as the feature back.

- I hate to admit it, since I'm a big fan of A.J. Green, but Perrish Cox did one hell of a job locking him down on Saturday. Of course the other Cox (Joe Cox) had a big part in that as well, but Perrish played like a potential NFL 1st rounder on Saturday.

November 07, 2007

"We both had the same objective since we met at a high school all-star game in San Antonio," Cushing said. "It's about leaving a legacy. We want to continue a tradition of great linebackers here at USC and dominate."

Maualuga, 6 feet 3 and 250 pounds, has started all but one game this season and is second on the team with 59 tackles, including 7 1/2 for losses and three sacks.

"The league isn't going to run away," Maualuga said. "You can never come back to college football. It's just another year to improve and have fun with teammates."

Cush coming back was expected since he missed nearly half the season to an ankle injury, but also great to hear that Rey wants to come back for his final year. Of course you have to take these type of statements with a grain of salt, but considering that Rey and Cush are good friends, this definitely has more pull.

Also, on the topic of the linebacking corp, it looks like Chris Galippo will be ready for Spring practices. That's very good news in itself, but even greater if Rey decides to change his mind.